December Athlete Spotlight: Ian Houska

Tell us something about your life outside of CrossFit (career, family, hobbies, etc).

I love watching movies and finding a great T.V. show. My dad has always been a movie lover and I guess I just followed his footsteps. Lately I’ve been really into western movies but I find myself enjoying any genre. I’m currently studying Secondary Education and hoping to be a high school history teacher someday. I love working with kids and helping others as I tend to put people ahead of myself often.

My favorite book or movie:

Book: The Great Gatsby. Movie: Perks Of Being A Wallflower or The Hateful 8

My favorite local restaurant:

Newtown Pizza

Tell us something that we don’t know or would be surprised to learn about you:

I love learning new things. I try my best to pick up new hobbies or interest as much as I can and learn as much as possible about them. Lately I’ve been reading and learning about how to invest my money. I find stocks super interesting and want to learn how to finance my money correctly. In the past I’ve picked up surfing and cooking (still trying new dishes and learning as I go).

How I was introduced to CrossFit:

Matt was my trainer while swimming for Council Rock North and during my off season I took his word and gave Crossfit a chance.

My fitness routine before CrossFit:

Swimming, swimming and more swimming.

My thoughts after my first CrossFit workout:

I want this to be my new sport.

My proudest CrossFit accomplishment is:

Completing the 9/11 Tribute Workout

My favorite WOD is:

I really like Angie and hope to do it sometime soon!

My Favorite Lift is:

Clean and Jerk!

My next goal is:

To pair double unders!

How has CrossFit affected your life outside of the gym?

I look healthy and I’m not afraid of my body. I’ve struggled with confidence because how skinny I was but now I’m shaping into the body I wanted. I also want the best for me fitness wise and nutrition wise. Doing whatever it takes to get my body to look how I want it to look while still being as powerful as possible during workouts.

What I love most about CrossFit Newtown:

The people. I’m a stay at home college student and with my best friends all being 5+ hours away from me you get lonely. It is really nice to have people that care for your problems and goals. I’m always hyped up or pushed by fellow crossfitters which not only pushes me but inspires me to push others and be an even better person than I am. Seriously the people are what makes Crossfit Newtown such a blast everyday, even when you see 150 wallballs for time!

What advice I would give to someone just joining CrossFit Newtown:

Start with motivating yourself to come to as many classes as possible, then work on technique so you prevent injuries. Soon you’ll be scaling workouts and in no time even RXing workouts. Whatever you put in is what you’ll get out of it and always stretch

Do you have any diet/nutritional advice?

Eat breakfast! All throughout high school I never took breakfast serious outside of swim season and it really affected my entire day. I was getting tired earlier in day and constantly hungry so having a nutritious breakfast really helps with workouts and a healthy daily lifestyle.